FIA bin Mercedes conflict of interest probe

PARIS:

Motor sport's governing body, the FIA, on Thursday announced that it had ended a short-lived investigation into a potential conflict of interest believed to centre on Susie Wolff and husband Toto, the Mercedes team boss.

The FIA, without naming any individuals or teams, had launched the investigation after allegations of information of a confidential nature being passed to an F1 team principal from a member of Formula One Management (FOM) personnel.

The spotlight had fallen on Toto Wolff, the high-profile and outspoken boss of the Mercedes team, and his wife Susie.

She is managing director of the F1 Academy, the women's competition administered by FOM, the company that holds the sport's commercial rights.

But the FIA announced Thursday that "following a review of Formula One Management's F1 Code of Conduct and F1 Conflict of Interest Policy and confirmation that appropriate protective measures are in place to mitigate any potential conflicts, the FIA is satisfied that FOM's compliance management system is robust enough to prevent any unauthorised disclosure of confidential information".

"The FIA can confirm that there is no ongoing investigation in terms of ethical or disciplinary inquiries involving any individual."

Toto Wolff's team had "wholly rejected" suggestions of wrongdoing and Susie Wolff issued a strongly worded statement on social media defending herself.

She wrote on Instagram that she was "deeply insulted but sadly unsurprised" by the claims.